An e-zine about spaceships, aliens, science, memory, motherhood, magic, and cats.
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
Annie grabbed her backpack from the far side of the pile of sleeping bags, slung it over one shoulder, and went out the back door, carefully avoiding the entertainment room where Doris and Ryan were doing their puzzle.
Outside the air was crisp; a breeze had come up and blown the earlier heat away. The stars looked bright. Beaming. Calling to her. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 2”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
The Checkerboard Ultrarocket cruised through the upper atmosphere of Zorpa II. Commander Annie sat cross-legged in the cramped cockpit of her tiny, homemade spaceship and watched the enticing purple deserts and pale green oceans glide by. After her first aborted attempt, she’d never had the courage to land on Zorpa II alone. She’d been waiting all summer for Captain Callie to have time to join her, but Callie had been busy with a summer math class her mother was making her take. Continue reading “Commander Annie – Part 1”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
The rain soaked the mountain until its red dirt was dusty no more. Chira’li spread his wings testing them, and the water beaded on his feathers like glittering gems.
Water streaked down Nawry’s face, soothing him. It was like the entire world could finally cry for all the wrongs that had been done, the cold shoulders turned; every minute of pent up pain got released. And the tears were beautiful.
Nawry stretched his arms up and spread his flippered fingers, remembering the feel of the ocean against them when he swam. He wanted to swim again. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 6: The Golden Halls”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
Nawry stayed for the night in the castle. He slept in a downy bed under a canopy of rich green velvet, much the same color as the forest canopy itself. But the bed was much more comfortable than sleeping on the forest floor, leaned against a fallen log. He awoke to find Kassy curled up on the pillow beside him. The pillow’s soft cotton covering was a pale shade of lime, so the tiny gray cat looked like she was sleeping on a grassy hillside, just the right size for her.
Nawry watched her tiny side rise and fall with her breathing. At first, he thought he’d wait for her to awaken, but as the sunlight in the window shifted, shortening the mornings shadows, he began to worry about wasting daylight. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 5: Argos Peak”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
According to the maps drawn up by Benter’s guards, Nawry’s quest must take him South. The shoreline was only two days’ swim in that direction, a much shorter journey through the depths of the ocean than the one that had brought them to Benter’s Kingdom. A shorter swim was certainly an appealing prospect. However, Nawry worried about denying Kassy the chance to return home.
In the mere days of their journey so far, Nawry had seen Kassy’s small body grow leaner and longer. The silver fuzz of her fur had smoothed and dimmed to a gentle gray. Although Kassy hadn’t noticed it, Nawry could see her growing older. She had bare seasons to live compared to the many years he could look forward to, and he didn’t want to keep her from the society of the other kit-seeds if she wanted to return. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 4: The Evergreen Masquerade”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
For three days, Nawry had swum through empty water over barren sand in deep dark. He was used to his eyes playing tricks on him. So, when blackness lifted to blueness, he paid no heed. Surely, he’d imagined it.
Yet, the water ahead of him continued to grow lighter, paler. The light was diffuse. Even once Nawry was sure it must be a sign of the kingdom he was approaching, he couldn’t make anything out of the azure and cerulean blurs ahead. It didn’t look like a kingdom. He saw no buildings, no castle. It looked like a fragmentation in his vision. His eyes had grown too tired, he thought, and had invented an hallucination. Then, suddenly, the darkness, the blueness, and the light pulled together, and Nawry understood what he saw. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 3: Benter’s Kingdom”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
Nawry discovered the Karillow tree nestled between the bounteous persimmon and peach trees behind Aumna’s house. It was a little, silver branched waif, and, unlike all the other trees in the glade, it was winter-naked all winter long.
When Nawry asked Aumna about the incongruous little tree, she told him, “That’s a Karillow tree, and it’s an immigrant to this world too. The seed for that tree traveled as far as your people did before settling in my garden.” Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 2: The Karillow Tree”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
The Noodlebeasts came from the North. They traveled the Rocky Shores with their baskets of noodle-seeds, eating only as many as they needed to survive. The rest they saved for their arrival. It was a long journey along the crooks and crags and crannies. At night, they found safe nooks, protected from the beating of the ocean waves. There, they built cozy fires, toasted noodle-seeds for their supper, and sang songs about the world they were traveling toward. Continue reading “Nawry the Noodlebeast – Chapter 1: The Rocky Shores”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
The trunks of the trees stretched up toward a sky blocked out by clusters and clumps of orange and red autumnal leaves. The trunks were smooth, black, regular. Minutus loped between them, slaloming through the woods on long legs, bushy with her burgeoning winter coat. She was alone. She’d been alone since her latest litter had grown into full-coated, long-legged adult wolves of their own. With their own lives. Continue reading “The Soul of the Forest”
by Mary E. Lowd
Originally published in Commander Annie and Other Adventures, November 2023
The universe is fundamentally composed of irony. We live in a story, and that story has a genre. It is a satire. Let me repeat the most important idea here: the fundamental building block of the universe, the smallest, indivisible component is irony. When you take an umbrella, and so it doesn’t rain — dramatic irony. The viewer, whoever or whatever exists outside the universe, or perhaps simply the personality of the universe itself gets to laugh at you. It knows; you didn’t. Dramatic irony. Continue reading “When the Universe Listens”